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APEC summit in Beijing

South Korea, China "effectively" reach free trade agreement

The deal, which comes after over two years of trade negotiations, covers a range of areas, including trade, services, investments, finances and communications

© EPA/KIM KYUNG-HOON/POOL

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Asia-Pacific economic integration to dominate APEC CEO Summit 2014 opening in Beijing

BEIJING, November 10. /TASS/. The leaders of South Korea and China have “effectively” reached an agreement on free trade, a spokesman for the South Korean government said on Monday.

The announcement comes after South Korean President Park Geun-hye met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing.

The sides are expected to agree on details of the deal until the end of this year. A formal signing of the agreement is planned for the beginning of next year, the spokesman said.

The deal, which comes after over two years of trade negotiations, covers a range of areas, including trade, services, investments, finances and communications. The agreement will remove or sharply reduce tariffs between the two trading partners.

China is currently the largest trade partner of Seoul, accounting for over 26% of South Korea’s exports as of late 2013. Last year, bilateral trade between China and South Korea reached $228.9 billion.

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